Archive for the ‘outdoor fun’ tag

It’s hard to tell if it’s the natural setting, which includes a waterfall in the distance, or because it’s one of Beacon’s many reminders that city-grade culture can take many forms, one transplant at The Roundhouse echoes a common refrain: ‘We’re so glad this is here.

AirTran’s current inflight magazine features an article titled Small Town Charm. Featured in that article, in the Culture Towns section, is the little burgh I like to call home. And, yes, it is the natural setting. The nearby mountain, the Hudson River, the dozen or so running streams, and the town itself. Love this place. You will too.

Great day today. After a couple of small storms that have created a good solid snow base, today we got a really wet, heavy snow. It’s been snowing hard since about 7:00 AM today and it’s not supposed to stop until sometime late tomorrow afternoon.

As is often the case, we try to get ourselves out into the snow as soon as we can after a good snow falls. Today was just about the best day we’ve had in a couple of years.

After a little work around the house we were able to spend about an hour walking out behind our house in the freshly fallen snow.

After a fine breakfast at Kelly’s Kitchen in Point Pleasant proper, and after my bike’s rear tire was repaired, Kathy and I spent a delightful day at Island Beach State Park. We parked just outside the maIn gate and then biked the eight miles to the southern end of the island. It was a nice flat ride that we were assisted on by a nice tailwind.

After we got to the end we racked our bikes and began walking toward the end of the island, which is just opposite of Barnegat light; a sight we’d never seen from this point of view before.

We hung out at the end of the island for about an hour as we watched the surf fisherman fish, a Coast Guard crew run drills, and I slept briefly. Then we hiked around the southern tip of the island through an area where the original surf fisherman and other outdoor enthusiasts used to hold property leases before Island Beach State Park was purchased as a park by the state of New Jersey. This was a wonderful part of our hike. There was NO ONE hiking the same trail we were on and it lead between the dunes only occasionally revealing one of the seven remaining houses that are owned by the leaseholders.

These houses, by law, cannot be passed on to heirs, so those who live in them now get to live in them until they die and then the property and the lease revert back to the state. The properties were beautiful, hidden as they were in between the dunes and the ocean, but knowing that those who lived there now would be the last to enjoy the property made us feel sad.

After our bike and hike we returned to Point Pleasant for dinner and shortly now we’ll be off to bed.